1. Field of the Invention
The inventions disclosed in Applicant's earlier U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,986,443; 6,945,433; and 6,945,432 relate to dosing and/or dispensing systems. The invention of the co-pending application also relates to a dosing and/or dispensing system with the invention of the co-pending application having improved venting to ensure the efficient and accurate dosing and/or dispensing of liquid chemicals. In the instant invention, an anti-drip valve is provided for preventing liquid from dripping from the dispensing or dosing bowl or cup at the end of a dosing cycle.
2. Description of the Related Art
In Applicant's earlier U.S. patents, which are identified hereinabove, dosing and/or dispensing systems are disclosed for use with a liquid container such as a bottle or the like for dosing and/or dispensing liquid contents from the bottle. Various different dosing and/or dispensing embodiments are disclosed in Applicant's earlier patents which enable the liquid to be dosed or dispensed by gravity from the container. In Applicant's earlier patents, an inverted liquid container such as a bottle or the like is screwed onto a fixture which is in communication with the open upper end of a hollow cup or bowl which normally has a predetermined volume. It is desirable to dose a predetermined volume or amount of liquid from the container into a spray bottle or the like which will be used to spray a mixture of water and the liquid chemical onto surfaces to be cleaned. Although Applicant's earlier inventions work extremely well, the invention of the co-pending application represented a further advance in the art due to the unique venting of the components of the assembly so that air locks are prevented and so that the liquid will freely flow therefrom in precise amounts. In the systems of Applicant's earlier U.S. Patents, identified above, and in the system of the co-pending application, if extremely vicious liquid is being dosed or dispensed, some of the vicious liquid may drip from the discharge nozzle or tube beneath the dispensing bowl even though the lowermost valve just above the discharge nozzle is in its closed position after a dosing cycle. The dripping problem is caused by some of the vicious liquid in the discharge nozzle tending to cling or stick to the interior of the discharge nozzle.